Moving to Tahoe North Shore vs. South

S

sgray

Member
Hi all

Me and a few buddies (4-5) are planning on moving to tahoe next spring for a year or two and were starting to think about where we want to live. Dont really know much about the area so any info would be great. We want to be close to the shore and I've heard that kings beach and tahoe city are nice places along the north shore (looking to get a 3/4 bedroom house for around $2000/mo). Any other places we should start looking at? What are some pros/cons about each end of the shore? How are the job prospects at either end/ cost of living? Most importantly, how does the skiing compare?

thanks for the info
 
Northshore you're gonna be closer to a ton more resorts such as Squaw, AlpineMeadows, Homewood, Boreal, etc the list goes on. You'll be close to Truckee, pretty cool place. Southshore is cool with the whole tourist/Heavenly scene and ski row. But South you're not gonna be by as many resorts. Mainly sierraattahoe and I guess the few in between maybe kirkwood. I personally love Sierra though! I do alpine and sierra passes from now on. As for jobs I don't actually live in Tahoe so I can't help you there. Let me know if you guys actually make it up there!
 
Live in North Lake and get a night job, or one that starts around early evening so you can ski mornings. I'd shoot for something like a valet at the Ritz in Northstar so you can accumulate some tips or just be a waiter.
 
southshore more laid back less of a mountain scene for being in the mountains, with the casinos and shit.
 
south shore also has a lower cost of living. You can get a 3-4 bedroom for under 1500 pretty easily.
 
Both shores have good skiing. North has a lot more options and is known for its terrain though. Hit me up if you guys decide to move out here and we could shred.
 
North Lake for sure. It has the best skiing, less people, and less of the bro brah scene. Sure South Lake has the casinos and the nightlife but North Lake has some pretty sick house parties. It might cost a bit more but with the level of skiing on the North Shore you will be more than content.
 
The north shore/south shore battle will go on and on.

Personally i'm a fan of South shore's nightlife, but north shores skiing. You can't beat, Alpine Meadows on a powder day.

Here are MY opinions on the mountians in Tahoe/surrounding areas.

Heavenly, South shore Heavenly has some of the best parks in tahoe, their park crew is awesome and they have such a variety of features. The lines arn't long on sundays or weekdays and the vibe is chill. Oh powder days, They open Mott/Killabrew canyon along with Firebreak (or something like that, it's on the tip of my tounge) It's a huge backcountry area that is awesome. TIPS FOR HEAVENLY If you go on the cali side, past the gondola, their is the cali lodge. Don't park on the bottom lots, their is almost an access road to the left of the lodge right to the left of the WORLD CUP lift, by the house's. You can ski to the lift and ski to your car with a walk of no more of 10 seconds.

http://www.skiheavenly.com/~/media/heavenly/files/trail%20map/1011_trailmap_lg.pdf

Kirkwood, Not on the lake A little further out from tahoe on the 88. but oh fucking god this moutain gets buckets of powder, their park isn't bad for spring days, but On the powder days it's insane. All i can stress about kirkwood is how awesome the guys are (true skibums) and how awesome the skiing is. I get a season pass here everyyear, usually here and Heavenly. Just because of the powder. TIP you don't always need first chair, but the wall is amazing. Their is a cliff section that is to the right of the wall that is worldclass. POWDER POWDER

Sierra At Tahoe, More of in the middle, but i'll call it south shore This moutian is pretty cool, a lot of young park skiers, their parks are unique and have amazing flow. it's not flat so you get speed easy, I don't ski there very often but I do everynow and then And it's always a fun/good time. Don't have any tips as i don't go here enough.

Northstar, Truckee, north shore This moutian is the downfall of tahoe IMO. Very very very long lines, it's a tourist mountain, and well the lift lines can be 30 mins to an hour at sometimes. Their park is nice, but very flat so if you fall you don't have speed for anything else. The stash is pretty sick but last year they bolted the cabin up, so you couldn't even go inside it was lame. Northstar powder is 4/10. Very expensive and not worth it. The northstar pipe is awesome, this is the only thing i ride when at northstar. BUT to not die on the pipe, you have to hit it after about 2-3 days of bluebird. TIPS don't go here.

 
...Unless you only want to ride overcrowded, yet well above average park all day long, want to deal with hoards of n00bs and gapers, want to put up with daycare children + their overprotective, obnoxious parents clogging the lift lines...

...or just have an incessant need to meet Shaun White...
 
Couldn't have said it better :)

But overall...I would say North Shore is better for sure. South Shore is good for the party scene but I think that Kirkwood is the only really quality mountain down there, and it's not even that close to South Shore! However...get down there for a powder day...it's worth it.

Squaw and Alpine are the best mountains, in my opinion, at Tahoe. Squaw is more expensive but has way more fun, challenging terrain to ski. However, Squaw will be tracked out way before Alpine on a pow day...if you want fresh tracks at Squaw then get there really early and chase the lifts as they open up. Or become friends with Ski Patrol ;)
 
Go to the North Shore and ski Squaw. best terrain hands down in Tahoe IMO. To all the people who gripe about their parks, that's all changing this year. SPT is gonna revamp the crap out of that place.
 
Lol become friends with ski patrol? That's like becoming friends with the nazis.... or some kind of crazy religious cult... lol.

I'll stick to cooking breakfast in the KT line and handing out red bulls kthxbye
 
See, you say that...but I've definitely talked with ski patrol people before and got to ski first tracks on some sick lines with them-not every pow day but I've managed it a few times. So while you are making breakfast and handing out redbulls, I'm already getting a line in.
 
Squaw, and I've gotten on Headwall early before, on Tower 16 early, and Granite early before. I will admit that this doesn't happen often, but when it does it's awesome.

And normally I would agree with you on that girl having advantages...but my ski clothes are baggy and I'm wearing goggles/helmet. Not advantageous to using girl powers haha.
 
Bumping for the upcoming season.

Boreal Up past northstar is boreal. Boreal is open soonest and usually stays open longer then any other mounitan. This is a fun mountian for park and park only. They have night skiing and it's pretty fun. I enjoy boreal quite a bit. I'll be entering the JPI.7 this year.

TIPS bring food/water energy shit like cociane because night skiing gets you tired quick.

Diamond peak This is a family/beginner mountian. Their is one run i like here and it's to the left of the high speed quad in the trees the canyon or something. Pretty fun in there.

The park isn't bad for the mountian it's at. Family vibe all around. Good groomers, but be careful of the ski school.

TIPS if the parking line exceeds to the bottom their is usually parking up top by the lodge. just keep driving. You'll see a driveway to your left take that their is always a couple spots open.

I'll post in here everynow and then

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top